A GRANDMOTHER was horrified when a complete stranger grabbed her baby grandson in a café by both cheeks and kissed him on the lips.

Linda Hamer, aged 53, of Central Ave, Farnworth, was in Bolton's Odessa Café at lunch time with nine-month-old Nixon Foster when the woman approached and said: “I am not leaving this café until I've kissed this baby.”

Out of the blue, the stranger got hold of Nixon by both cheeks and kissed him on the lips on Tuesday. (October 25)

And Mrs Hamer spoke out to warn of the health implications of possibly passing on diseases to youngsters if they are kissed by strangers, as cold sores can be fatal to babies.

Mrs Hamer, a shop worker, said: “People in the café were shocked and I was left speechless by what happened.

“I would never kiss Nixon on the lips and he's my grandson. I think parents are permitted to kiss their own babies on the lips, but random strangers could have all kinds of diseases.

“You have no idea where they have been, I could tell the woman involved had been smoking.

“I saw others having lunch looking on in horror as it happened - it was quite a prolonged kiss.

“Fortunately my daughter had packed a facecloth, as Nixon had been getting a bit of a rash from his Aldi face wipes, so as soon as she took her face away I wiped his lips and mouth.

“The woman left the cafe before I could say anything, but it's just not right to come up to a little baby and kiss them on the lips. Even kissing them on the cheek is a bit much from a stranger.

“The health implications are considerable as you have no idea where this lady has been.

“She had been outside smoking and I could still smell that on her when she got hold of both Nixon's cheeks and kissed him on the lips.

“It was horrendous, completely over stepping what is acceptable and it happened so fast.

“Nixon's my first grandson, but I would never dream of kissing a baby I didn't know on the cheek let alone the lips.”

Babies can contract oral herpes from a kiss. The disease can be transmitted through saliva and surfaces in or around the mouth, according to the World Health Organisation.

One young mum, who witnessed the incident, said: “It was appalling. The woman concerned was a total space invader - she just thrust herself towards the poor child and a baby cannot push anyone away. It was just so wrong.”

Owner of Odessa, Alex McVey, said he and his staff were unaware of the furore until after the customers had left.

"We don't know much about the incident. It's very strange and nothing like this has happened before," said Mr McVey.

"I'm not aware of the person who kissed the baby, though my workers tell me she's been in a couple of times before.

"It's an odd incident that's unfortunately happened in our cafe. I don't think it has any bearing on the cafe as it could have happened anywhere."